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Toan to bellow his spell (or poe an extre on and on above his head was very distracting but Arthur forced hi at the shiny spoon and his own curved face

It got easier to look after the first minute The other reflections drifted away, and Arthur lost all sense that there was anything or anyone else around hi reflection He was alone in the universe, looking at himself, and that was all there was –

Tom finished the spell and wrapped his weather-beaten hand around the spoon

Arthur blinked

They were back in Tom’s roo and shouting No words were distinguishable, it was all angry roaring, until a few distinct words canised the quieter voice as Soot’s

The louder one’s shout was, ‘Captain! To me!’

Tom cursed

‘I must obey!’ he explained ‘Good fortune, Arthur Here!’

He tore the gold coin froht ear and flipped it to Arthur as he strode to the door, his ‘friend’in his hand on his second step

Arthur caught the coin, sticky with Tom’s blood, and looked over to the table

‘Thanks! But how do I send a –’

He was too late To shut behind him

Suzy hurried over to the desk, while theWill clihty and disapproving

‘There’ll be a telegraph blank here soh the papers ‘You just write in the squares Here!’

She took a quill and an ink bottle from deep inside her shirt, unscrewed the bottle, licked the point of the quill, and handed it to Arthur

‘You write it,’ he said He tried to hand the quill back He’d never used anything but a ballpoint or felt-tip

Suzy shook her head ‘I’ penrace Particularly the esses And the haitches’

Arthur looked at the telegram blank It was a simple printed form, headed THE ELEVATED AND WORSHIPFUL TELEGRAPHIC, TELEPHONIC, AND MESSAGE SERVICE OF THE HOUSE Under that, there was TO and a line of seven word boxes, MESSAGE and five lines of seven boxes, and FROM with its line of seven boxes, plus a red-inked circle in the corner about the size of the blood-dappled gold coin Arthur held There was also a very s the quill in the turquoise-blue ink, Arthur somewhat blobbily wrote Da Suzy’s unspoken but evident scorn at his cluht for a few seconds, then with several refills, nu, wrote:

IN TREASURE TOWER GOT WILL IT WON’T RECOGNISE ME SAYS NEEDS OFFICIAL FORM SEND FORM OR HELP HELP!

He hesitated at the FROM boxes, then simply put Arthur and ticked the box next to REPLY PAID

As soon as he’d ticked the box, the red-lined circle began to gloith a silver light, and the handwritten annotation 12R appeared

‘Lob the coin down,’ Suzy instructed

Arthur placed the gold coin on the circle The whole form immediately vanished In its place were four silver coins of varying sizes and designs

‘Lucky you got the change,’ said Suzy, sweeping the coins off the table and into her pocket ‘They embezzle it half the time’

‘We’d better find that ay next door,’ said Arthur, suddenly conscious that he couldn’t hear any shouting outside

‘Which side?’ asked Suzy

‘Forgot to ask,’ Arthur shouted as he made his way to the door ‘Co, you may address me as Most Excellent Testamentary Clause,’ said the sun bear

‘Claws?’ said Suzy, as she tilted the chair to speed the bear on its way ‘Orright, Claws, hop to it’

‘No, no, no,’ protested the sun bear ‘Most Excellent’

‘Claws it is,’ said Suzy loudly ‘After you, Claws’

‘I saidohjust don’t speak to me,’ huffed the Will as it waddled after Arthur

Out on the ay, Arthur was already trying the door on the left It opened easily enough, but the cell beyond was completely eht from the ay lanterns Arthur dashed in, quickly scanned the rooain

‘The other one!’ he said He tried to keep his voice down, but it still echoed

The echo was answered by a shout from below A harsh, powerful voice that was not Tom’s It echoed up from a point not as far below as Arthur would have hoped Perhaps only three or four levels down

‘Captain! Did you hear that?’